U.S. Senate turns to $60.4B Sandy aid bill Monday

The high price tag of a $60.4 billion disaster aid bill, and an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that less than $9 billion would be spent in the coming year, had some lawmakers balking at the cost Thursday.

In response, senators and representatives from the Northeast worked to remind colleagues that other states had gotten help before, and would need it again in the future.

The Senate was expected to begin debate Monday on the bill, which replenishes disaster aid accounts and the federal flood insurance program. It also funds projects to make New Jersey and New York beaches and transportation systems better able to withstand storms.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republicans would have to provide support.

“You need 60 votes, and I’m confident that our Democrats are very strong behind us. We’re working on Republicans, and we’re not there yet, that’s for sure, but we hope that they will be there,” Schumer said.

But with the looming tax increases and spending cuts tied to the “fiscal cliff” dominating discussion, it could be a tough sell.

“There’s a lot of stuff in there that isn’t immediate and right now our focus needs to be on what’s immediate,” Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told Bloomberg News.

Without additional money from Congress, the disaster relief fund in the Federal Emergency Management Agency will run dry this spring. Nevertheless, FEMA on Thursday approved paying 75 percent of the cost for New Jersey towns and counties to remove debris from private property.

Governor Christie had asked for 100 percent reimbursement, but did not complain about the amount, saying in a news release it was an “important tool to expedite” rebuilding efforts.

If the disaster aid bill does pass the Senate, it faces more hurdles in the House.

A House Republican who represents Atlantic City said he has become concerned about efforts to impose requirements on the Northeast that were not imposed when hurricanes hit the Gulf Coast, earthquakes rattled the West and floods and tornadoes destroyed the Midwest.

“If there needs to be discussions about doing things differently, they shouldn’t be on the heels of a natural disaster like this, with people suffering and the frustration and the anger that we have,” said Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-Ventnor. “That can take place at another time.”

Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., said he was hoping the Senate would pass the spending bill and that Speaker John Boehner would post it for a vote in the House with no changes.

“I feel very confident it will pass without incident,” he said.

In an interview on CNBC on Wednesday, Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, said he needed assurances that there were protections against waste. Garrett opposed the funding to respond to Hurricane Katrina because it did not include safeguards, ands later analyses found significant waste.

“I think the American public wants to make sure there is a level of accountability going into this sort of thing,” Garrett said. “I will be supportive of legislation once we have the accountability in place.”

After the Obama’s funding request came out last week, Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a joint statement saying they were pleased that it provided more flexibility than past responses to direct dollars where they are needed. But one man’s red tape is another’s necessary safeguard.

Christie’s office would not comment directly on Garrett’s concerns, but spokesman Michael Drewniak said: “The request for aid is appropriate, responsible and warranted in view of the level of devastation to this critical region of the country.”

Garrett’s office declined to comment on the congressman’s remarks in the interview.

Even as lobbying for the aid package intensified, Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, organized a bipartisan group from the region to sponsor a package of tax cuts, which he said will be introduced next week as a companion to the spending bill.

Its cosponsors include Garrett, LoBiondo and other Republicans and Democrats from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

The proposal, which could face a steeper climb than the spending package, would protect victims of Sandy from losing tax credits because of lost income caused by the storm.

It also increases some deductions for individuals and small businesses, would let people borrow as much as $100,000 from retirement accounts for up to three years without penalty, and allow private lenders to issue tax-advantaged bonds for rebuilding.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is also preparing a disaster tax-cut bill with Schumer. Both are members of the Senate Finance Committee.

Pascrell said the main disaster program for businesses, low-interest loans, is not enough to deal with Sandy’s devastation.

“We need a much more intense response for the small businesses, many of which are still out of business,” said Pascrell said at a Capitol news conference.

Two hours earlier, the same message was being delivered at a Senate hearing by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who said her city took a double hit from the storm and the disruption of PATH train service.

“Many businesses report up to a 60 percent reduction in business due to the difficulty of getting to and from Hoboken,” Zimmer told the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.